Stabbing suspect held on $1M bond

0
148
John Satkunas Jr., right, was arraigned Thursday in Waterbury Superior Court on charges connected with a stabbing in Prospect. -REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
John Satkunas Jr., right, was arraigned Thursday in Waterbury Superior Court on charges connected with a stabbing in Prospect. -REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

WATERBURY — Police have a suspect, a bloody knife, but no motive in the attempted murder of a 22-year-old Prospect man who was found bleeding on a main road in his hometown on Wednesday.

Authorities say John Satkunas Jr., 21, tried to kill another man near a parking lot of 14 Waterbury Road and was arrested after troopers chased him down. Though they seized a syringe from Satkunas, they have yet to say what led up to the attack.

State police say as they responded to a 911 call, the stabbing victim, whose name wasn’t released, stepped in front of an unmarked police cruiser driven by Sgt. Eric Peck. The man was bleeding from multiple stab wounds and was having trouble breathing because of a punctured lung. He told police Satkunas stabbed him, but couldn’t offer any other details.

Satkunas, who lists his address as the rear apartment of 14 Waterbury Road, was chased down by troopers after he refused to surrender. Satkunas, whose hands were bloody, told police he didn’t know anything about a stabbing and asked for a lawyer. In his pockets, police found a blood-covered folding knife, along with a syringe and a spoon, which are commonly used to inject heroin.

Satkunas, who sports a tuft of beard on his chin, was charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with an officer and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was held on a $1 million bond on Wednesday night, an amount which remained the same after he was arraigned Thursday in Waterbury Superior Court. He is due back in court on Oct. 14.

Supervisory State’s Attorney John Davenport said the victim in the case suffered serious injuries, but he couldn’t say what led to the violence.

“It’s a little bit unsettling on an attack like this when there’s no readily apparent motive for it other than he was trying to seriously injure or kill him,” Davenport said.

The victim was taken to Saint Mary’s Hospital and was expected to survive his injuries.

The stabbing occurred near the spot of a suspicious fire that destroyed a Chinese food restaurant and a small office for a chimney and masonry company on Sept. 15. Accelerant was used to spark the blaze, but investigators have yet to arrest the arsonist. Though state police listed Satkunas’ address as the same building that burned, they have not said if the two events are linked.

It also isn’t the first time Satkunas has been accused of pulling a knife on someone.

When he was just 16, Satkunas held up a patron of a skate park in Prospect in 2011. During that hold up, Satkunas pulled a knife and stole cash from his victim before escaping into the woods near Hotchkiss Park. Troopers tracked Satkunas to his home where they found him hiding in a closet.

Satkunas was convicted of first-degree robbery and was sentenced to two-and-half years in prison for that robbery. After he was released, he violated his probation and served a few more months behind bars.

Paul Singley contributed to this article.